disputes. things likethecivilrightsfightsof the 1960s. now it is routine. it requires really 60 votes to do anything in the senate. we have this intense level of party line voting with the filibuster. it's like a parliament system without majority rule. then you have the informal analog to that in the house which the majority party says, we're not going to bring anything up. it has to have 218 votes but it has to have a majority of the majority which gives a veto to the republican wing of the conservative party. that's where we'restick stuck right now. >> let's bring in lisa dejardan. is there in this particular case -- >> reporter: i'm hesitant to get into it because it gets into senate procedure. the simplest would be if the leaders agree not to invoke that 60-vote requirement. if they agree a majority would be enough. for that to work, the rest of the senate would then have to essentially allow it to. there would have to be no one that attempts a filibuster. that's the easiest way to get around the 60 votes. another way is to possibly use some sort of budget measure that could be p

to the family. that's one whole aspect in any sortofcivilwartype situation, which it reallyisrightnow.you have the criminalization of society in many ways from people who are trying to make a living possible, and then you have groups that become invested in the civil war and the continuing of the civil war you saw something similar in lebanon. i wrote a piece recently in monitor called the lebanonizeation of syria, and unfarmly, of the many scenarios that could occur, in syria, because it does seem to be -- there's no easy answer. there is absolutely no easy answer to this. american intervention is not the answer. and i would be happy to talk more about that perhaps in the q & a session. what happened in -- what will happen probably in syria, unless the equation on one side or the ice dramatically changed. you have this balance of forces almost where neither side has the wherewithal to land the knockout punch and both sides think they can win and it's very difficult to intervene with any sort of negotiated solution with both sides think they can win. and when this happens in such a g

quantities at all. patti ann:well,right. andas you mentioned, this isacivilwar.>> yeah. patti ann: if assad exits, it's far from over. there are various possible outcomes here. do you see the rebels, though, being able to forge some kind of a government that can work with itself? >> it's possible, but within the rebel factions there are over 4,000 foreign fighters. their loyalty is to jihad. they're there as jihadists just as they were to al-qaeda in iraq. when they were killing americans. so they're not, their interest is not in the future of syria. their interest is in the future of an islamist state. so that's why if anybody gets in there, the deal has to be -- and assad needs to make this deal with someone who he thinks can honor it -- we need to lock down those weapons first and have a presence of we'll call it an adult country rather than the civil war participantsdividing the spoils of that very lucrative arms cache. patti ann: yeah. what is the likelihood that a non-islamist state, a more democratic type of government will emerge from all of this? >> well, that's very diff

sectariancivilwar.we're talking a time frame ofyears.rightnow,jon, the death toll is about 45,000. a lot of people are saying that number could easily double in the coming months and years as this violence continues, jon. jon: the refugees keep streaming out of that war-torn country. leland vittert in jerusalem for us. leland, thank you. harris: new information from russia today where president vladmir putin has signed that bill banning americans from adopting russian children. we saw this coming and now it has happened. the bill angering americans and russians who say it victimizes the children just to make a political point. amy kellogg is live for us in london with more. amy, why have they passed this law? >> reporter: well, harris, the law is named after dima yakovlev, a toddler who died in the custody of his adoptive american parents a few years ago in the washington, d.c. area. he was left in a car in the heat but basically, it does appear that this law was actually a reaction to a law passed in the united states. it puts travel bans, visa bans and asset freezes on 60 ru

, qaddafi fell, everything was over. now looks like thesyriancivilwarcould go on foryears.rightnow,patti ann, about 45,000 people killed there sectarian violence continues and that number could easily double. back to you. patti ann: leland, thank you. gregg: a disturbing case of deja vu as a man is pushed to his death right in front of a new york city subway for the second time this month. an update on the hunt for his killer. patti ann: glow glowing tribute to a man remembered as one of the great military leaders of his generation. lawmakers and leaders stop to honor general norman schwarzkopf could have, the man who led desert storm, perhaps better known by his nickname storm minute norman ti. because your daughter really wants that pink castle thing. and you realldon't want to pay more than you have to. only citi price rewind automatically searches for the lowest price. and if it findone, you get refunded the difference. just use your citi card and register your purchase online. have a super sparkly day! ok. [ male announcer ] now all youeed is a magic carriage. citi price rewi

in the nearly two-yearlongcivilwarthat activists say killed more than 40,000 people but it has not stopped the syrian government from attacking its own men, women, and children. a human rights group reports the regime shelled a bakery and killed 20 people, including at least eight children. we cannot independently confirm that. we're joined by a journalist who specializes on middle east affairs. this is a significant defection, lisa, and it appears from the you don't see that you have bashar al-assad losing his grip on power. >> absolutely. this is one of the most significant diminishing of power for the bashar al-assad regime. we've seen the military be a full supporter of asaid. a few defections but nothing of that caliber that would keep him there. there's a few factors that since march of 2011 when uprisings began in syria that helped assad stayed in power. little by little we see these factors dissolve, one the military and this large defection we had today. the other being support from russia. the two other elements that still remain in place, however, keeping him there, are thal awa

, and offend every standardofcivilizedsocietyby bringing an even more toxic max of reckless behavior and criminal cruelty right into our homes every minute, every day, every hour, of every single year. a child growing up in america today witnesses 16,000 murders and 200,000 acts of violence by the time he or she reaches the ripe old age of 18. throughout it all, to many in the national media, their corporate owners, and their stockholders, act as silent enablers if not complice it co- conspirators. rather than face their own moral failings, the media demonize to gun owners. >> reckless behavior becoming from the nra. the nra has blood on its ads. -- ahands. the nra has blood on its hands. shame on the nra ban assault weapons now. ban on assault weapons now. stop killing our children. stop the reckless behavior of the nra. we need gun control now. >> rather than face their own moral failings, the media demonizes the gun owners, amplifies their cries for more laws, and fills the national media with misinformation and dishonest thinking that only delay meaningful action in all that guar

the truck was actually carrying. there is no word yetcaused this. jamie:well,rightnowthere is word of a high level defection in syria's civil war as the general of the country's military police reportedly switches sides and joins the opposition. ambassador john bolton joining us now, former u.n. ambassador to the united nations fox news contributor. am bass do, great to see you. thanks for joining us. >> good morning. merry christmas belatedly. jamie: merry christmas to you. how significant is this defection away from assad. >> i think it has couple important aspects. this is another high level general. there is political implication there. we'll have to wait and see whether it induces other regime military authorities to defect as well. second, for the opposition undoubtedly this will give them important information about what's going on inside assad's military, perhaps inside the regime itself. what's the disposition of forces? are they well-armed? what is their morale? where might they be vulnerable? whether this general is welcomed by the opposition and contributes to them mili